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Home » Roach: Crawford tough for Pacquiao, like a young Mayweather but better puncher!

Roach: Crawford tough for Pacquiao, like a young Mayweather but better puncher!

Talk of a spring clash between the pair has been gathering more pace in recent weeks and Roach admits Pacquiao would be highly challenged by Crawford at this late stage of his career.

“It’s a tough fight, but it is one that we have to say yes to if that’s the only thing out there,” Roach told Fighthub TV.

“We don’t want to be just fighting nobodies and so forth just to stay in the game. We still want to be the best.

“The thing is, if you can’t be the best in something, or if you have no dream of winning another world title, then you don’t need to be in this sport because you’ll get hurt.”

On Crawford’s impressive 2016, Roach added: “He seems like he’s getting better. He can move for 12 rounds, he has good legs, and he’s a bit of a puncher.

“I think he’s like a young Mayweather, but he probably has a better punch than Mayweather.”

Asked whether he believes the fight is possible moving forward, Roach replied: “I’d rather have a good, solid training camp for Crawford, where (Manny is) very focused the whole time, for eight weeks. But Manny is not like that, and he never has been, either, so we’ll see.

“Crawford is a very, very difficult fight, but Manny is still a very good fighter – I feel,” he added.